2012 Mid-Season Standings: A Championship of Five

The once unpredictable 2012 season has now been narrowed down to five drivers in contention for the world title. Alonso leads the pack, but the improving Red Bulls, McLarens and Lotuses could spoil the Spaniard's party. We'll take a driver-by-driver look. 

1. Fernando Alonso

Points: 164
Previous titles: 2
Odds: 10/11

(+) Aggressive and consistent performance 
(+) Ability to push car beyond its limits
(+) Has the most wins from all drivers this season
(-) Car's inconsistent pace sometimes erases hope for high place finishes

The season so far: Even if Alonso's championship campaign tanks over the next nine races, and there are no signs that it will, his first half of the season deserves its own little place in F1 history. Given a car that was completely unbalanced, lacking traction and slow on the straights at the start of the season, the Spaniard kept his head down and continued to drive at his best regardless. Even after his victory at a sodden Sepang there were few that thought the Ferrari was capable of winning in 'normal' circumstances, yet he is the only driver to have secured three race wins from the first eleven races.

Looking ahead: His position 40 points clear at the top of the championship is entirely deserved, but there have been signs that Ferrari is still a little off the pace of its rivals. Even after Alonso's victory in Germany, Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo said he was "concerned" by the strength of Ferrari's opponents. Alonso may be clear on points but he is going to have to work just as hard and continue to avoid DNFs if he is going to hold off the chasing pack all the way through to the final race in Brazil.

2. Mark Webber

Points: 124
Previous titles: 0
Odds: 12/1

(+) Bounced back in style after troublesome 2011 campaign
(+) When in form, able to deliver skillful and intelligent driving
(-) Inconsistent performance

The season so far: After some pretty average performances, it's something of a surprise to find Webber in second place in the championship. But when he has been on form he has made the most of it and when he hasn't he has, more often than not, taken 12 points for finishing fourth. There really is no knowing what kind of performance Webber will put in before each race, but on his favoured tracks he has shown strong pace and his performances are certainly closer to his 2010 form than the Webber of 2011.

Looking ahead: His performances so far this year bear a remarkable similarity to his 2010 season where he could have won the title had it not been for an accident in Korea. If he can continue to follow the 2010 pattern he stands a chance of closing the gap to Alonso and passing him, but he needs to put the disappointment of just eight points from the last two races behind him. The Red Bull is clearly one of the quicker cars, but Webber needs to make sure he stays on top of the way the developments alter the car's behaviour, because on a couple of occasions he has failed to match team-mate Sebastian Vettel.

3. Sebastian Vettel

Points: 122
Previous titles: 2
Odds: 3/1

(+) Solid qualifying performance often useful
(+) Managed to grab a respectable amount of points with only one win so far
(-) No longer able to replicate 2011-style dominance

The season so far: One win from the first 11 races was not what Vettel or the rest of the paddock was expecting after pre-season testing. In 2011 he was consistently able to qualify on pole and run away with the races, but he has only been able to employ that tactic twice in 2012. The first occasion was in Bahrain, but even then he was hauled in by the Lotus of Kimi Raikkonen, and the second was in Valencia, although his race came to a premature end when his alternator packed in. It will also be interesting to see how important his dropped points for passing Jenson Button off the track in Germany prove to be.

Looking ahead: Red Bull found a significant improvement at the European Grand Prix thanks to a new exhaust layout at the rear of the car. Several other innovations have been knocked back by the FIA, but the general trend has been towards a car that is improving race on race and is especially effective in Vettel's hands. It will be no surprise if he returns from the summer break and closes in on Alonso and it's worth remembering that he was 24 points off the lead with five races remaining in 2010 and still won the championship.


4. Lewis Hamilton

Points: 117
Previous titles: 1
Odds: 5/1

(+) Excellent qualifying pace
(+) Improved race craft since 2011
(-) Inconsistent car
(-) Faulty strategies and pit stops from team

The season so far: It's never simple with Lewis Hamilton. At the start of the year it looked like McLaren had the quickest car but Hamilton couldn't match his team-mate Jenson Button. Yet Hamilton remained calm and picked up consistent results with three podiums in the first three races ... then things started to go wrong. A slip up in the pits cost him in Bahrain and then his car was underfuelled ahead of qualifying in Spain and he was sent to the back of the grid after comfortably securing pole position. He eventually won in Canada but at the very next race he lost a possible podium when Pastor Maldonado punted him off the track. Even a conservative estimation of the points lost in incidents that were out of his control amounts to a massive 54 (an extra 8 in Bahrain, an extra 21 in Spain, 12 in Europe, 12 in Germany), which would put him clear at the top of the standings. It could well be another case of what might have been for Hamilton.

Looking ahead: His victory in Hungary will keep him in the fight and the improved performance of the McLaren should be enough to give him the motivation to continue to fight at the front. But as the first half of the season has proved, Hamilton has a distinct ability to attract trouble and just one more DNF could spell the end of his championship challenge. He now needs to rediscover his consistent early-season form and then pounce on any victories that present themselves.


5. Kimi Raikkonen

Points: 116
Previous titles: 1
Odds: 11/1

(+) Excellent race pace and race craft 
(+) Consistent performance with points finishes at almost every race
(-) Rusty over a single lap
(-) Lacked aggressiveness in the first few races

The season so far: Raikkonen has exceeded most people's expectations since his comeback at the start of the year, even if his first win with Lotus remains elusive. The signs are that it's not far away after five podiums in the first 11 races and arguably one of the best performances of any driver at the Hungarian Grand Prix. Raikkonen has shown that he can still produce spates of unadulterated speed when it's needed, although he has not yet found his form in qualifying. Nevertheless, no one can knock his motivation and his results this year rather put Michael Schumacher's comeback efforts in the shade.

Looking ahead: The news that Lotus's double DRS has made good progress in its first two outings should mean the car will have an extra boost in time for qualifying at Spa Francorchamps. Raikkonen has won on four of his last five visits to Spa so will be in contention for victory when the cars return to the track in September, and if he can pull it off he'll be right in the middle of the chasing pack behind Fernando Alonso. Lotus has shown impressive pace this year and multiple victories are a real possibility in the second half of the season. Raikkonen's title challenge must be taken seriously.

GB Analysis: Webber in the hunt for world title

The sun finally shone on Silverstone on Sunday, as Mark Webber made all the right moves. The Australian hunted down and passed polesitter Fernando Alonso in the closing laps, narrowing the gap between them at the top of the driver standings to just 13 points, as the season nears its halfway point. 

Red Bull

Mark Webber, P1
Sebastian Vettel, P3
Webber drove a great race, starting on the option Pirelli, then running two sets of primes. On the second set he was able to haul in Alonso before passing him easily with five laps left. Vettel damaged a front-wing endplate slightly early on in his fight with Massa, but a great strategic call of an early first pit stop put him ahead of Schumacher and Massa and set him on the road to a solid podium finish. Their performance confirmed the step forward they made in Valencia, even if relative to their rivals that step wasn’t as big as some had feared.


Ferrari
Fernando Alonso, P2
Felipe Massa, P4
Alonso drove superbly on the prime tyres initially and looked a certain winner, but the Ferrari lacked pace on the options in its final stint and eventually he could not contain Webber. Nevertheless, it was another great race for Ferrari as he kept his championship lead, and Massa took a strong fourth after a great opening battle with Schumacher and Vettel.


Lotus
Kimi Raikkonen, P5
Romain Grosjean, P6
Yet again Lotus were fastest at the end of a race, but Raikkonen couldn’t quite catch Massa for fourth. Grosjean hit Di Resta on the opening lap, but fought back superbly to take sixth. As a result, Lotus move to third overall ahead of McLaren.


Mercedes
Michael Schumacher, P7
Nico Rosberg, P15
Schumacher made a great start and was a tough proposition for Massa, but after Vettel jumped them both in the first pit stop he gradually faded before managing to repass Hamilton for seventh towards the end. Rosberg was a lower points contender until his second stop, when problems with the left front wheel delayed him and dropped him to 15th.


Williams
Bruno Senna, P9
Pastor Maldonado, P16
Senna was the points scorer today, after Maldonado blotted his copybook again by colliding with Perez. He was later reprimanded and fined 10,000 euros.


McLaren
Lewis Hamilton, P8
Jenson Button, P10
McLaren had a horrible time. Both drivers said their cars felt fine but they lacked grip. Hamilton led briefly after Alonso’s stop and a 21-lap opening stint on the prime tyre, but later dropped away when his final set of primes did not perform to the same level. Button said both Sauber and Williams were faster. They fell from second to fourth overall in the constructors’ stakes.


Sauber
Kamui Kobayashi, P11
Sergio Perez, Retired lap 12, collision with Maldonado
Perez was flying and a contender for decent points, but was taken out by Maldonado on the 12th lap when they collided and both spun. Kobayashi was also very quick, faster than the McLarens, but a late braking pit stop knocked three team members off their feet and the delay cost him a points finish. Thankfully nobody was hurt, but he was fined 25,000 euros.


Force India
Nico Hulkenberg, P12
Paul di Resta, Retired lap 3, accident damage
Di Resta’s race was over at the start when he got hit by Grosjean and suffered a punctured right rear tyre. That caused a spin and a lot of autocrossing which damaged the floor too much for him to complete more than one lap after a resultant pit stop. Hulkenberg seemed set for ninth under pressure from Senna and Button, but slid off trying to repass the Brazilian for the position and ended up 12th.


Toro Rosso
Daniel Ricciardo, P13
Jean-Eric Vergne, P14
Both drivers raced the wheels of their cars, with Ricciardo just coming out on top after a race-long duel. Encouragingly for the team, the Australian was eighth in the fastest lap rankings and the Frenchman tenth.


Caterham
Heikki Kovalainen, P17
Vitaly Petrov, Did not start, engine
Caterham’s race got off to a frustrating start as Petrov’s Renault engine ate itself on the grid formation lap and the Russian was thus unable to start. Kovalainen said things went reasonably well as he drove his CT01 as hard as he could, but the team believe there is more to come from their latest updates.


Marussia
Timo Glock, P18
Charles Pic, P19
A tough race ended a tough week for the Banbury team, after Maria De Villota’s accident. The positives were a healthy two-car finish and boss John Booth’s conviction that they are gradually pulling away from HRT and closing on Caterham.


HRT
Pedro de la Rosa, P20
Narain Karthikeyan, P21
No real problems for either driver as their races went pretty much to plan, though Karthikeyan said his rear tyres wore out faster than expected.

Mark Webber beats Alonso to Silverstone victory

Red Bull's Mark Webber trimmed Fernando Alonso's Formula 1 championship lead to 13 points by hunting down and passing the Ferrari in a dramatic conclusion to a totally dry British Grand Prix at Silverstone.

Sebastian Vettel completed the podium and almost managed to make it a Red Bull one-two as he gained on Alonso's tyre-troubled car at the end.

Alonso pulled out a five-second lead over Webber in the first stint and maintained it for the majority of the race. But while most of the field used soft tyres early then switched to hards, Alonso waited until his final stint to try the softs, and could not keep up his previous pace.

Webber caught up rapidly and was on the Ferrari's tail with seven laps to go, trying several moves before deploying his DRS on the run towards Brooklands on lap 48 out of 52. Alonso defended the inside as Webber swept around the outside, and after attempting to retaliate at Luffield, the Spaniard had to let Webber go and concentrate on staying clear of Vettel.

The world champion had run fifth in the opening stint before a slightly early first stop helped him jump to third, where he would finish, unable to catch Alonso in the end.

Felipe Massa spent the opening laps trying ever-more creative attempts to overtake Michael Schumacher's Mercedes for third, finally managing at Stowe on lap 11. The Ferrari lost out to Vettel in the following pit sequence, then resisted the fast-closing Lotus of Kimi Raikkonen to take fourth.

Lotus got two cars in the top six despite Romain Grosjean breaking his front wing in a brush with Paul di Resta on the first lap. The resulting puncture and associated damage ended the Force India's race, while Grosjean charged back from last to sixth.

Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button could only finish eighth and 10th in the McLarens. Hamilton spent a while in the lead and enjoyed a spirited dice with Alonso as he ran a very long first stint on hards, but then did just a handful of laps on softs before switching back to harder Pirellis. The Briton's pace then faded and he lost seventh place to Schumacher late on.

Although Button jumped to 12th at the start, his progress was less dramatic thereafter. In the closing laps he was in the thick of an epic dice for ninth with Bruno Senna and Nico Hulkenberg, won by the Williams. Hulkenberg (Force India) ran wide at Copse in the heat of battle and dropped out of the points.

The other major incident of the race involved Pastor Maldonado and Sergio Perez. Running seventh and ninth in the first stint, they pitted together on lap 11 but then collided at Brooklands on their out-laps. The furious Perez sustained terminal damage to his Sauber, while Maldonado dragged his Williams back to the pits for repairs and finished 16th.

Completing a bad day for Sauber, Kamui Kobayashi hit several mechanics at his final stop. Initial reports suggested there were no serious injuries and the Japanese driver continued to 11th ahead of Hulkenberg.

Nico Rosberg had a less dramatic bad pitstop during what was already a low-key midfield race, which ended with his Mercedes 15th.

Is Vettel ready to dominate the rest of this season?

Looking back at Red Bull's pace in Valencia, Vettel's performance might trigger the beginning of the end regarding 2012's wide-open season. Are Red Bull now ready to dominate?

Having comfortably taken pole position for the European Grand Prix, Vettel was dominant in the race as he opened up a 20-second lead before a safety car period. His alternator failed soon afterwards, however, and he was forced to retire as Fernando Alonso took victory.

When asked by if he thought the pace advantage could be maintained at Silverstone Vettel replied: "Well we hope so.

"I think Silverstone is a very different track in terms of speed range - Valencia is fairly low speed. Weather wise is going to be very different I think! I would be surprised if we have 30 degrees and sunshine in Silverstone, but why not? Maybe the English summer is treating us differently this year!

"I think it will be interesting, as I said it's a very different track all in all. It's important for us to ideally confirm the results or confirm the feeling we had in Valencia - but not the result!"

Christian Horner believes Fernando Alonso is Red Bull's "obvious" rival in the fight for the title, but is expecting challenges for race wins from several teams.

Alonso currently leads the drivers' championship but Sebastian Vettel could have been on top had an alternator problem not forced him to retire from the lead of the European Grand Prix. Red Bull had the fastest car in Valencia two weeks ago, but Alonso, in a car that is still off the pace in qualifying, took victory.

Asked if there was a single driver he saw as Red Bull's biggest threat this year, Horner told ESPNF1: "The driver, obviously, is Alonso. But there are so many drivers that are in contention and teams as well. I think Formula One has never been so open as it has been [this year], going in to grand prix weekends where there could be eight potential winners."

Red Bull brought a major upgrade to the rear of its car at the last race in Valencia to enhance the performance of its diffuser. Horner is wary that Silverstone will provide a different challenge at this weekend's British Grand Prix, but said another strong performance would bode well for the car's chances at all venues this year.

"In Valencia the car worked very well, but that was in high temperatures and with a different type of layout. Hopefully it will follow through in to the next grand prix at Silverstone - it's a completely different layout of circuit with fast sweeping corners, probably cooler temperatures and knowing the British summer maybe a bit of rain. Hopefully the car can be competitive and if we can be competitive at Valencia and Silverstone then the rest of the season looks promising."

Post-race Analysis: Epic Valencia delivers best Formula 1 race so far this season


Non-stop action, drama, plenty of overtaking and a shocking finale. Not bad for a venue known to have monotone and boring racing. In short, Valencia will be remembered as one of/the best race of the 2012 season.

Shock 

Fernando Alonso - At the start of the weekend it wasn't beyond the realms of possibility that Alonso would win, but starting 11th having missed out on Q3 nobody would have given him a chance in Valencia. The Spanish Gods were smiling on him today.

Shocker 

Pastor Maldonado - In an almost opposite situation to Alonso, Maldonado qualified brilliantly but then struggled to match pace for much of the grand prix until the final stint - when he threw away a podium finish by driving in to the side of Hamilton.

Best overtake 

Romain Grosjean - With his race being 

compromised by Hamilton early on, Grosjean made up for a lack of straight-line speed by outbraking the McLaren around the outside of turn 12 and then muscling through on the inside of turn 13

Best lap 

Sebastian Vettel - Take your pick of any of the first 35, but on the second lap Vettel extended his lead from 1.1s to 4.0s and ensured the race was his to win, until a suspected alternator failure robbed him

Worst lap 

Nico Rosberg - At the restart after the safety car period, Rosberg failed to get temperature in to his medium tyres and dropped from sixth place to 12th

Drive of the day 

Fernando Alonso - After a good start, Alonso judged a number of overtaking moves beautifully to run third behind the safety car. Having passed Grosjean and inherited the lead he then showed his experience to judge his pace perfectly to the flag to the delight of his home crowd

Fernando Alonso beats Raikkonen and Schumacher to win brutal European GP



Fernando Alonso came through from 11th on the grid to take a remarkable home victory in the European Grand Prix in Valencia. The result made the Ferrari driver the first repeat winner of the incredible 2012 Formula 1 season, and also moved Alonso into the championship lead.

The latter outcome was due in large part to Sebastian Vettel retiring with a mechanical problem on his Red Bull after dominating the first half of the race, and Lewis Hamilton's McLaren retiring late on in a collision with Pastor Maldonado's Williams as they fought for third.


Lotus's Romain Grosjean had looked like a victory threat as he chased Alonso, only to suffer an alternator failure, but his team-mate Kimi Raikkonen came through to claim second after a late pass on the fading Hamilton, whose incident with Maldonado then allowed Michael Schumacher to make his podium return for Mercedes in third place, chased by 19th-place qualifier Mark Webber's Red Bull.


Vettel commanded the early stages, immediately pulling out a lead of several seconds as the pack behind took several corners to sort itself out. Front row qualifier Hamilton got away slowly, and had to fend off several attackers before establishing himself in second ahead of Grosjean, Kamui Kobayashi, Maldonado, Raikkonen, Nico Hulkenberg and the fast-starting Alonso.


During the opening stint Alonso overtook Hulkenberg and followed Raikkonen past Maldonado, then jumped Raikkonen and Kobayashi by running one lap longer before his first pitstop.


This group then came out in a long train of yet-to-stop cars, through which Alonso made much more assertive progress than his rivals.


Approaching half-distance, Vettel was leading by 20 seconds over Grosjean, who had overtaken Hamilton with a neat outside-line move on lap 10 and then pulled out a 10s gap over the McLaren, which had Alonso edging closer.


When the safety car was called out to clear debris from a clash between Jean-Eric Vergne's Toro Rosso and Heikki Kovalainen's Caterham, most drivers made their second and final pitstops. Hamilton's was very slow, allowing Alonso to get up to third, and the Spaniard then went around the outside of Grosjean into the first corner at the restart to claim second.


Moments later that second place became the race lead, as Vettel's Red Bull suddenly cut out and retired, to the world champion's shock.


Grosjean kept Alonso under pressure and still seemed a likely winner, only for an alternator failure to halt the Lotus with 17 laps to go.


After that Alonso was able to pull clear and become the first repeat winner of the 2012 season, retaking the championship lead in the process.


Hamilton held on to second until the final two laps, when his tyres appeared to wilt. Raikkonen got past after a long battle, but when Maldonado tried to do likewise, the pair clashed, putting the McLaren in the barriers and breaking the Williams's front wing.


That allowed Schumacher through to claim the first podium of his Formula 1 return, as fended off Webber, who made great progress through from 19th on the grid.


Both Schumacher and Webber passed the Force Indias in the closing stages, with Nico Rosberg then getting his Mercedes between Hulkenberg and Paul di Resta's Force Indias to take sixth on the last lap.


Jenson Button had a low-key run to eighth for McLaren, ahead of Sergio Perez's Sauber and the limping Maldonado.


The second Ferrari of Felipe Massa was delayed with damage from a collision with Kobayashi and finished a lowly 16th. Kobayashi had to retire after the incident.


For some of the race it looked like Caterham might score its first point, as solid pace and the attrition ahead allowed Vitaly Petrov to pick his way up to 10th place. But the Russian was pushed back down the order and then tangled with Toro Rosso's Daniel Ricciardo.

Sebastian Vettel expecting to fight Grosjean and Raikkonen for the win

Sebastian Vettel may have taken pole position, but hot conditions and impressive long run pace favor the Lotuses. The German expects to be fighting Raikkonen and Grosjean on Sunday afternoon.  

Vettel has won the last two races at Valencia from pole and is hoping to make it a hat-trick on Sunday. However, the unpredictable nature of this season means Vettel is not taking anything for granted. 

Romain Grosjean and his team-mate Kimi Raikkonen are widely tipped as a dark horses for race victory because of the Lotus's performance in hot weather and race conditions. "Lotus have proven in Bahrain that they will be there in hot conditions. Grid position is important but maybe not as important [as it used to be].", reckons Vettel. 

However, the circuit in Valencia does not offer many overtaking possibilities. Jenson Button is not expecting to make progress on his grid position. Still, the Briton also expects Lotus to fight for victory tomorrow. "The only people I would say can maybe move up will be the Lotuses., said Button. His team-mate, Lewis Hamilton shares his views: "The Lotuses look massively competitive, I think they're going to be the ones to watch out for tomorrow."

Romain Grosjean declared fourth on the grid a good result for Lotus despite looking like having the pace to challenge for pole position.

At the end of Q2 Grosjean was the quickest driver and with track temperatures high the conditions seemed to be suiting Lotus. However, in Q3 Grosjean saw his best time beaten by Sebastian Vettel, Lewis Hamilton and Pastor Maldonado to knock him back on to the second row. Despite that, Grosjean was not disappointed, pointing out that it was his second best qualifying performance of the season.

"The only time I've been better on the grid was in Melbourne when we were P3," Grosjean said. "Monaco we were P5, here we're P4 so it's getting better. It's not as good as the Red Bulls today, which were flying but again we are consistent at the front. There's no race where we are really up and another when we are down. So it's good, the race pace looks good from yesterday which is interesting for tomorrow. We have to discuss some of the strategy but I think without compromising our race set-up we managed to get a good qualy lap today."

When asked if Lotuses long run pace meant this could be the race that it secures its first victory this season, Grosjean said it could be but added that a win wasn't the be all and end all.

"It might be the one, as the next one might be the one or the next one again. It depends on circumstances, it depends on a lot of things. If I was starting tomorrow without thinking about the win it wouldn't be right, but I'm not focused on only winning the race. If we can then I will do it, if we cannot then I'll take the points, the podiums or whatever we can get. Every result is important for the championship, we are fighting with Ferrari who is behind us and with McLaren there is one in front and one behind. So we have a good chance to score good points and that's the main objective."